Schwarzenegger Stumps, Er, Appears With McCain

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to formally endorse his "great friend" U.S. Sen. John McCain during a press conference at the Port of Los Angeles this morning, but the Republican governor certainly added a political boost to the Arizona senator if he decides to run for president.

When a reporter asked if today's event - with a dramatic backdrop of ships unloading and an environmental theme - was an edge toward endorsing McCain, the senator jumped in and joked: "I think it's the endorsement, yes."

Schwarzenegger responded: "We are not doing presidential politics here. We are here to talk about the environment." He also said McCain was a good friend and "a man who has been fighting many, many years to protect our environment." He later called McCain a "great Republican fighting for the environment."

Endorsements of presidential candidates are virtually meaningless to the final outcome. Still, Schwarzenegger's active campaigning helped re-elect President George W. Bush in the 2004 campaign, when Schwarzenegger appeared at an Ohio rally just before the election. Bush won the critical state by about 118,000 votes.

(Photo: Nick Ut / AP)